Author's Note: Sorry it took so long. Make sure you read the author's note at the bottom, especially if you are a lemon fan. As always, thank you all so very much for the great reviews and also to those you favorite or alert the story. This story is only five away from being on 200 favorite lists. My Perfect Match feels much loved.
DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer, along with Little, Brown and Company, owns all the rights to the Twilight Saga. I own nothing and profit nothing from this story.
I drove us back to Bella's house thinking of an alternative way to catch the red headed leech. I refused to lose Bella just to catch a bloodsucker. We pulled up into an empty driveway. I knew Charlie should have been home soon. I headed for the couch and flipped on the television. I was scanning through the channels when I felt Bella sit down beside me. She laid down putting her head on my lap. I began to run my fingers through her soft, brown hair.
"We have a little while until I need to start dinner. I was thinking maybe we could discuss this plan," she said quietly. I did not want to talk about the ridiculous plan.
"There's nothing to discuss because we aren't using that plan. Paul's an idiot."
"Maybe he is," she said smirking, "but he's right this time. It's the best bet at getting her, Jared. If you'd just consid-"
"No, Bella. I won't have you getting hurt or possibly dy- dying." I could feel the anger starting to build. I still had full control, but she infuriated me with her lack of self preservation. "Don't you get it?" I yelled. "That would kill me. I would die if anything happened to you." Bella sat up and faced me.
"I do understand," she began calmly, "because I feel the exact same way. I need you, too, Jared. And I won't lose you or any member of the pack because of my past. If I can help, I will."
"Bella, please, don't do this," I wasn't above begging.
"Jared, I need to do this for you and the pack."
"The pack can take of itself and you. I can take care of me. It's you that we have to worry about."
"Jared, Victoria is here for me. And it's not just the pack that is in danger. The tribe, Forks, people in the surrounding areas. They are all at risk because Victoria is here for me. I know the pack can protect me and themselves, but what about everyone else, Jared?"
"We're doing our best to get her, Bella. And we will, it's just taking a little more time than we'd like."
"Victoria has a gift of escape but if I was there, she would take more risk to get me. The pack could get her once and for all. Then everyone would be safe, not just me."
"Bella, it's not everyone else that I worry about it. It's not everyone else that I can't live without. I know that sounds awful and selfish and any other horrible word, but it's the truth."
"I won't have other people's death on my shoulders any longer. I'm doing this with or without you. The pack will support the idea, I could tell that by the meeting earlier. You're the only one holding the plan back."
"So, what you'd go behind my back and do this, put yourself in danger?"
"It's not behind your back, Jared, you know about it. And I don't want to do this without your support, but I will if I have to. You can't protect me from everything."
"I sure as hell can try." Does she not hear herself? This is stupid.
"I won't let you. I am my own person and I can make my own decisions. I'm doing this and that is final." God, this woman really gets my blood boiling.
"I have to get some air." I was going to lose control sitting there thinking of that plan actually going into action.
"Jared, don't go…"
"I'll be back, but I don't think Charlie would appreciate a giant wolf smashing his living room in. Just- just give me a few minutes and I'll be back. Promise," I said walking to the back door. I was shaking and slightly twitching as I fought the change.
I walked through the trees shedding my shorts quickly. I was halfway phased before the shorts even hit the ground. I roared out of my frustration.
Whoa, man. A little anger management might be beneficial.
Shut the hell up, Paul. This is all your fucking fault you, jackass.
Hey now. I made a suggestion, it's not my fault your imprint decided to do the right thing and agree to it.
The right thing? God, Paul she could be killed!
She could be killed on a daily basis, Jared.
You have no idea how it feels to imprint or to possibly lose an imprint.
I know enough from you and Sam.
No, it's not the same. I would die without her.
Don't be so melodramatic, Jared.
Phase back.
Excuse me?
Phase back, Paul. I need to calm down so I can go back into Bella's. And I can't calm down with you in my head. I'll call when you can phase again.
But, I don't wanna. He whined.
I didn't ask, Paul. Phase back. I said as a Beta command. It was only the second time I had ever done it. And since I was giving the position over to Jacob in less than three weeks, it would probably be the last time. I felt him leave my mind and relaxed.
Obviously Bella had made up her mind. Bella was stubborn and I knew she would stick to her decision. And I didn't want to go into such a plan with us in a fight. As much as I hated the plan, I knew I would have to support her in it. But there would certainly have to be some conditions and requirements if I would jump on board, though. If we were going to do this, we were going to do it my way. Hopefully, Bella would be reasonable and let me plan out the specifics with Sam.
After sitting and thinking for about an hour, I let off a howl to signal to Paul that he was clear to phase into wolf form again. I trotted back to my cutoffs and phased back. I slipped them on and headed back to Bella's backdoor. I could smell dinner cooking away. I walked through the door to see Bella sitting in a chair with her face in her hands.
"Bella?" I heard her gasp and she turned around to look at me. Her eyes were puffy and red. "Bella, baby, what's wrong?"
"I didn't think you were coming back," she said sniffing and standing up.
"Bella…no, baby, I just needed to calm down. Come here, sweetheart." I took her into my arms. "Why would you think that? I told you I would be back."
"At first I thought you were and I started dinner, but then more and more time passed and you didn't come back. I thought you were giving up on me, that I wasn't worth it."
"Bella, you are worth anything, you're my everything. I'm sorry it took me so long. I just needed to figure things out in my head. I wanted to come back in here with a good attitude and to be able to support you. I hate fighting with you, Bella. I just wanted to get my head on straight. I really am sorry if I worried you, but you never have to worry if I come back. I'll never leave you, Bella."
"He said that, too." I should have known this would go back to the damn leech.
"Bella-" I heard the car door slam. "Charlie's here now, but we will finish this conversation. I don't want you to ever have doubts about us." I felt her nod against my chest. "Why don't you go upstairs and wash your face, I'll set the table."
"Okay," she said wiping her eyes.
"I love you, Bella," I said as she walked out of the kitchen. She turned back around.
"I love you, too, Jared," she said giving me a small smile before turning the corner to the stairs.
Dinner with Charlie went pretty well. I think he was almost used to seeing me without a shirt. I tried to have one when I was around him, but more times than not, I didn't have one on me. Most of the time I knew he liked me just fine, but every once in a while Jacob would come up in conversation and I knew that he was who Charlie really wanted Bella with. That hurt, but it was understandable. Charlie has known Jacob since he was born, whereas Charlie has only known me for a few months. I just hoped when the time came, he would give me his blessing to ask Bella to marry me. Not that I was in a hurry to get married. I knew I would marry Bella, and I didn't feel the need to rush into marriage. I knew enough about Bella to know that she wasn't a fan of young marriage. I wanted her to have any experience that she wanted before we settled down. But I would have to figure out a way to get Charlie more on the Jared and Bella bandwagon.
"Well, Bells, it was good, but I've got to go."
"Where are you going, you just got home right before dinner?"
"Oh, well, Randy hurt his back at home today, so I'm covering his graveyard shift. I'll be back in the morning around eight. If you need anything, just give the station a call."
"Alright, well, be safe."
"Always am, Bells. See you later. Jared," he nodded at me.
"Chief Swan."
"Be good, kids." He left and I started to pick up the dishes.
"Just leave them, Jared."
"No, it's okay, I don't mind. You cooked, I'll clean. Go sit down in the living room. I'll be right in." I could still feel her standing in the room as I began to wash the dishes. After a minute she finally walked into the living room. I would have to start making things easier for her. She worried too much and stressed herself out, and it was my job to keep all of that from happening. I dried the dishes and put them up before heading for the living room myself. I found Bella sitting in the lazy boy recliner chair. I went over there and picked her up and sat down with her in my lap. I wanted to hold her while we had a much needed conversation.
"You know I hate to push you. But I think we've avoided one topic for too long, Bella."
"I think you're right," she sighed snuggling closer into my chest.
"I know talking about them hurts, but I think it's time for me to know."
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything. From the moment that you met him to when he left to what you think and feel about him and the rest of them now."
"That's a lot. It could take some time."
"Well, it's a good thing I have you to myself for the entire night then."
"True. Alright, well, it started on the first day of school when I moved back. I saw them in lunch and was curious. But it was when I entered Biology that I guess the story really begins. When I walked in Edward tensed up and…" And so she told me about the leech disappearing for a week, then coming back and having bipolar mood swings. Then, stupid Jacob gave her the information she needed to figure out their secret. Next, she started dating the bloodsucker. The tracker leech nearly turned her in Phoenix.
"And so Edward sucked out the venom and kept me from changing," she said calmly. I grabbed her wrist and looked at the scar. How have I never noticed that before? How could that selfish leech put her at such risk? He should have known that something of that sort could have happened. "I'm fine, Jared." I nodded.
"Go on, what next?"
"I woke up in the hospital. Edward said I should still go to Jacksonville with Renée."
"And you disagreed."
"Yeah, I mean he was my whole life then. I didn't want to be without him." Some of it was hard to hear. I focused on the fact that it was me holding her then. "He tried to leave, saying it would be best, but I refused to listen. He promised he would never leave me unless I said he could and it was what I wanted. But he broke that promise and left anyway. I was just a play thing that he got bored of." I highly doubted that. If I had to guess, I'd say he left in her best interest and this time he didn't let her have a say. But I needed to know the rest of the story to know for sure.
"Okay, so you came back to Forks…" Then she carried on with prom and the summer. I could tell she was having a harder time as she went on. She spoke of her birthday and one of them nearly attacking her. One of her leech's own family tried to kill her. I couldn't believe it.
"So, after a few days of acting weird, he took me a walk on in the woods. He told me that he didn't love me any more and that the whole family was leaving, or rather had left."
"And then you got lost in the woods."
"Yeah," she said sniffing. "And Sam found me."
"And my obsession with you began," I said thinking of how silly my thoughts probably sounded. I knew Paul thought I had lost my marbles thinking she smelt beautiful.
"And then the bonfire, and my truck breaking down. Then you saved me. Jacob tried, but only you could finish the job."
"Are you fixed completely?"
"What? Yeah, the past a couple of months I've gotten back to me, not the me I was with Edward, but the Bella that existed before he took over my life. I'm me for the first time in a really long time."
"But you still miss him, them. Them being gone still hurts you."
"I miss all of them yes. But I am also very upset still with them all. Even if he didn't want me anymore why did the rest of them leave? Alice was my best friend and she didn't even say good bye to me. No contact whatsoever. It's like I meant absolutely nothing to them."
"I can almost guarantee that he still loves you, Bella. He only left to protect you from any further accidents. And I'm sure that he convinced his family of the same."
"How can you know that? He told me that he didn't feel anything for me anymore."
"Because it is what I would have done in the same position. But now I know that with or without dating a mythical creature, that you still find trouble. I am pretty sure that the fates have placed you in the mythical world as a way to ensure your survival. As much as you may not like to hear this, you need protection."
"But you won't right?"
"Won't what?"
"Leave for my best interest, because that would never be in my best interest."
"No, Bella, I won't ever leave. Even if you ask me to, I'll still be close, just like when I slept under your window. I'll always be here for you."
"That's good, because I don't want to lose you. This is why I want to play a part in the plan. I hate saying good bye to you when you go on patrol. I never know if it's the last time I'll see you."
"I'll agree to the plan, but I want some major, major say in the specifics of this ludicrous plan. First off, Paul gets no say, he doesn't understand imprinting, and he'll have you taking unnecessary risks."
"Fine, Paul's ideas are ignored. What else?"
"You never leave my sight. And I don't mean through the mind link either. I want to physically see you with my own two eyes, wolf or human."
"Okay, I'm sure that can be arranged."
"I'll think of some more after talking with Sam. I just want you as safe as possible."
"I have a whole pack of giant wolves looking out for me, I'll be fine."
"I know that everyone will protect you to the best of their abilities. That or they'll have to deal with Jacob and me both. So, you never really said how you feel about the Cullen's now."
"I guess more than anything I feel hurt at their abandonment. I still love them, but it would take time to forgive them. And that's if they even came back. But if it's Edward that you're concerned about, you shouldn't be. Maybe I could be his friend, but I'm with you. And I recall promising to you that I wouldn't be stupid again and hurt you like I did with Jake. I'm in this not for forever, but for the rest of our lives, however long that is."
"Hopefully, a good long while."
"Yes, a good long time is exactly what I need with you," she said smirking. "And since Charlie won't be home for a good long while, I think this would be a perfect time to take advantage of being alone." My eyes widen. Is she suggesting what I really, really, hope she is?
"And what exactly should we be doing with this time?"
"Follow me and find out," she said climbing out of my lap. I watched her as she walked up the stairs. I sat stunned. I did not see this conversation ending this way. I was prepared for yelling or crying. "Are you coming or not, Jared?"
"Yes," I squeaked out. I heard the door to her bedroom close and I gulped hard. If I got up there and she had some game like Girl Talk ready to play, I would have to excuse myself to the bathroom. I got up and headed for the stairs. I reached the top and stopped at her closed door. I reached for the handle. Here goes nothing.
Author's Note: So, many of you wanted some more Jared and Bella time. They really needed to go over some things before any special time was spent together and that was what this chapter was doing. I am keeping My Perfect Match rated Teen. So, I am putting up a separate story for the LEMON outtakes for this story. It will be called My Perfect Lemonade. Cheesy, I know, but I liked it. So, if you are over 18 years old and wish to read some lemony goodness, check it out. The first chapter of the story is up!! If you don't like lemons, no worries, there won't be anything key to the story mentioned in the lemon outtakes.